Black Star Mersch, 5th in the Phase finale standings, edged 4th-placed Sparta Bertrange 81-80 in a very tight game and snapped a two-game losing run. Sparta had won the first two meetings this season, 93-74 and 82-77, but this return game turned on late details.
Mersch led 18-15 after the first quarter and built the first real cushion in the second. Trey Sean Boayue (Season PPG: 25.12) carried that stretch and helped BSM reach a 35-25 lead, the biggest margin of the game. Sparta answered with a strong 14-0 run to close the half in front 39-37, with Jon Zulu, Ari Marinosson (Season PPG: 11.36) and the bench changing the rhythm for coach Elton Ferreira.
The third quarter swung again. After Sparta moved to 48-44, coach Jérôme Hansen's team responded immediately: BSM scored 11 points in a row, and Sam Tibold (Season PPG: 24.76) hit 9 consecutive points on three straight triples in that burst. That sequence turned the game back toward Mersch, which entered the fourth up 62-58.
The last period stayed within one possession for long stretches. Sparta came back through Ata Tastekin (Season PPG: 13.19), Marinosson and 15-year-old Maximilaan Flechtner, taking a 78-75 lead and then 80-78. Mersch still found the winning sequence: Leandro Da Silva Nunes (Season PPG: 10.80) made two free throws for 80-80, and Tibold added the decisive free throw for 80-81.
Boayue was the top scorer with 29 points despite foul trouble, Tibold added 22, and Da Silva Nunes scored 11. For Sparta, Tastekin had 17, Marinosson 13, while Flechtner and Diego Maestro Varillas finished with 11 each. Both teams now stand at 2-5 in the Phase finale.
(AI generated)